Cost of living comparison

Turkmenistan

compared to

Belarus

Minsk vs. Ashgabat Cost of Living Summary

Minsk is 54.7% cheaper than Ashgabat.

Restaurants: pay 56.5% less in Minsk
Groceries: pay 70.0% less in Minsk
Transportation: pay 14.1% more in Minsk
Housing: pay 69.3% less in Minsk
Childcare: pay 4.1 times more in Minsk
Entertainment and Sports: pay 70.0% less in Minsk
Clothing: pay 51.2% less in Minsk

The cost of childcare and transportation in Minsk are more expensive than in Ashgabat. Expenses including groceries, entertainment and sports, housing, restaurants, and clothing are lower in Minsk. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Minsk.

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Minsk vs. Ashgabat Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Minsk instead of Ashgabat, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 56.5% less for restaurants

	Ashgabat	Minsk
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$31.43 TMT110.31	$9.78 BYN28.70	-68.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$12.86 TMT45.13	$6.85 BYN20.09	-46.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.57 TMT5.52	$0.96 BYN2.81	-39.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.86 TMT3.01	$0.59 BYN1.74	-30.9%
Average			-56.5%

Ashgabat vs. Minsk - Cost of restaurants

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pay 70.0% less for groceries

	Ashgabat	Minsk
Bread 1 loaf	$2.04 TMT7.15	$0.68 BYN2.00	-66.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$18.82 TMT66.06	$3.79 BYN11.12	-79.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$17.09 TMT59.98	$3.45 BYN10.13	-79.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.00 TMT21.06	$1.64 BYN4.81	-72.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$9.07 TMT31.84	$2.40 BYN7.05	-73.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.30 TMT8.07	$0.70 BYN2.04	-69.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$3.84 TMT13.49	$0.76 BYN2.24	-80.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$3.40 TMT11.94	$0.97 BYN2.86	-71.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.67 TMT5.87	$1.21 BYN3.56	-27.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.04 TMT3.64	$0.29 BYN0.86	-71.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.65 TMT2.27	$0.33 BYN0.98	-48.5%
Average			-70.0%

Ashgabat vs. Minsk - Cost of groceries

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pay 14.1% more for transportation

	Ashgabat	Minsk
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.62 TMT5.69	$3.33 BYN9.77	+105.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$10.00 TMT35.10	$18.59 BYN54.53	+85.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$43,928.57 TMT154K	$21,193.80 BYN62,186.25	-51.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.71 TMT34.10	$5.54 BYN16.26	-42.9%
Average			+14.1%

Ashgabat vs. Minsk - Cost of transportation

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pay 69.3% less for housing

	Ashgabat	Minsk
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$102.86 TMT361.03	$13.39 BYN39.29	-87.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,414.29 TMT4,964.14	$581.42 BYN1,705.98	-58.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,000.00 TMT3,510.00	$380.44 BYN1,116.28	-62.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$436.97 TMT1,533.78	$46.63 BYN136.81	-89.3%
Average			-69.3%

Ashgabat vs. Minsk - Cost of housing

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pay 4.1 times more for childcare

	Ashgabat	Minsk
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$22.86 TMT80.23	$396.70 BYN1,164.00	+1635.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$24,807.14 TMT87,073.07	$24,214.29 BYN71,048.88	-2.4%
Average			+311.6%

Ashgabat vs. Minsk - Cost of childcare

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pay 70.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Ashgabat	Minsk
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.71 TMT20.06	$1.63 BYN4.78	-71.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$6.79 TMT23.82	$2.32 BYN6.81	-65.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$25.71 TMT90.26	$2.61 BYN7.65	-89.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$195.24 TMT685.29	$37.06 BYN108.75	-81.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.57 TMT30.09	$5.87 BYN17.22	-31.5%
Average			-70.0%

Ashgabat vs. Minsk - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 51.2% less for clothing

	Ashgabat	Minsk
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$55.71 TMT195.56	$50.77 BYN148.97	-8.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$114.29 TMT401.14	$44.17 BYN129.59	-61.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$364.29 TMT1,278.64	$106.09 BYN311.30	-70.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$192.86 TMT676.93	$106.95 BYN313.80	-44.5%
Average			-51.2%

Ashgabat vs. Minsk - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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